


Belonging

by Pheylan



Category: Fantastic Four (Movieverse), The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Gratuitous Joss Whedon references, M/M, smut with plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-09
Updated: 2013-06-09
Packaged: 2017-12-14 10:48:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/836070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pheylan/pseuds/Pheylan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you asked Johnny Storm – the Human Torch, extreme sport enthusiast, and cocky omega – who was his hero, you’d probably get a smug grin and something along the lines of “Me, of course.”  However, had you caught him prior to his transformation or even after – if he was drunk enough – you’d get a completely different answer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Belonging

**Author's Note:**

> So, I was in the mood for some Chris Evans on Chris Evans action, because I'm twisted that way, and while I found a few good stories, I didn't find any smut. This was supposed to be a PWP to fill that need. Then I decided to play around with the A/B/O thing. And then my muse said, "You know what would make this even better? A plot!" Almost 15,000 words later...
> 
> As per usual, great thanks to Cluegirl for thought provoking beta work and my hubby the professional editor for helping keep my grammar and punctuation straight.

“Hey, guys!  Come look at this!” Johnny Storm called to his pack in a rundown motel room just outside Latvaria. 

Sue Storm and Ben Grimm sat on the ratty couch either side of Johnny to stare at the TV.  Reed Richards lifted his head from where he was lying on the bed, but decided it was too much effort to get up at the moment.  On the TV shaky cell phone footage was showing a man in a red, white and blue outfit battling a man in gold and green armor with a ridiculously horned helmet.  A moment later Iron Man joined the fight and subdued helmeted man. 

“What’s the announcer saying?” Ben asked. 

“There was a fight in Stuttgart.  The man in green had attacked some scientist and then threatened a bunch of people before Iron Man and the other guy stopped him,” Sue said loosely translating the German. 

“The other guy is Captain America!” Johnny said excitedly.

“Oh, please,” Ben grumbled.  “Captain America died in the forties.  This is some other slob in a similar outfit.”

“No, look!” Johnny exclaimed as the footage began to repeat.  “See? He’s slinging the shield.  That’s definitely Captain America’s shield.”

“Huh, sure looks like it.”  Reed had finally gotten up from the bed to see what had Johnny so excited.  “Wonder who they found to fill the suit this time.”

“What makes you think it’s not Steve Rogers?” Johnny asked heatedly.

“Oh, don’t start that again, Mr. Fanboy,” Ben fussed.  “There is no way Rogers is still alive, serum or no.”

“Yes, he could be!  Several studies suggest – “

“Boys!”  Sue barked out putting all her alpha will behind it.  When she had their attention she continued.  “We’re tired.  We had a long fight in an even longer day.  Let’s get some sleep.  When we get back to New York, we can buzz Tony Stark and find out the truth.  No need to speculate until then.”

Ben and Reed nodded and started preparing for bed.  Johnny however turned back to the TV only to see that the news show had switched to something different.

“Come on, Johnny,” Sue said, scratching the top of the omega’s head.  “Sleep.  We’ll find out tomorrow if your twin from another time is back.”

“Sure, Sis,” Johnny agreed switching off the TV.  “It would be so cool!”

***

Johnny lounged back in the pilot seat of their jet.  They were cruising above the Atlantic heading for New York, so there wasn’t much to do at the moment.  He glanced over at Ben and tried to think of a good way to rile up the stony beta.  That was always a fun way to pass the time. 

“Oh, wow!”  Johnny glanced back to where Reed was sitting.  The other omega had headphones on and a concerned look on his face.

“What’s up, Reed?” Sue asked.

“New York’s under attack!”  Reed exclaimed looking at his packmates.  “The radio is saying it’s an alien invasion!”

“Shit!”  Johnny swung back around to the controls.  “At full throttle we can be there in a little over an hour.  Hope that’s soon enough.”

***

The Fantastic Four didn’t make it back before the battle was over.  Reed unplugged the headphones, so everyone could hear as the announcer relayed what was going on.  Apparently Iron Man and the possible Captain America were joined by some other supers and managed to stop the invasion.  As the jet flew over Manhattan on the way to the airport they got a good look at the damage.  Fortunately, the Baxter Building seemed to be outside of the battle ground.

Once they were home, Johnny hit the computer and started scouring the internet for anything he could find on the battle.  There was a lot of crappy footage that didn’t give him much more than glimpses of the heroes.  However, a few folks did manage to get some decent video, so Johnny found what he was looking for.  Some guy in medievalish armor and a red cape was tossing around a large hammer of all things.  Fighting back to back with him was the man in red, white and blue.  His cowl had come off and there was no mistaking the face.  Aside from the blonde hair, he looked like Johnny Storm.  Someone had found Captain Steve Rogers.

“Hey, Johnny,” Sue said sticking her head in his doorway.  “Come on.  We’re going to help emergency services with clean up and rescue.” 

“Sue! Look, look!” Johnny waved at the computer screen.  “It’s him!  It’s Captain Rogers!” 

Sue gave him a skeptical frown, but stepped up to the computer.  Johnny restarted the video. After watching it she said, “Well…could be.  But it seems to me if they’d really found him, it would have been all over the news.  This could be just someone who looks similar.” 

“But why would anyone want to do that?” Johnny asked.  “There’s no need for some big deception.  The simplest explanation is that that’s Steve Rogers.”

“Maybe,” Sue admitted.  “I’ll get Reed to call Stark.  In the meantime, let’s go help put our city back together.”

***

Johnny let off another fireball and reflected on his life. Two years ago he was a private pilot for Victor von Doom.  He made fantastic money, had plenty of free time for sports and sex and even got to regularly fly into space.  Now he was still making good money, but he was busting his butt playing PR person for the Fantastic Four, finding buyers for the results of Reed’s science experiments, and doing a little modeling on the side. On top of that, he quite often had to fight against the guy who had been his favorite employer.  He sighed and aimed at another doombot.  As much as he loved being the Human Torch, he’d be tempted to give it up if it meant Victor would stop being bug-fuck crazy so that Johnny could go back to being a carefree playboy. 

Johnny turned to attack another doombot only to withhold the fireball when he saw it being hit by repulsor beams.  A few seconds later and the gold and red Iron Man suit swooped up next to him. 

“You’re not answering your comm,” Iron Man said in that slightly robotic voice.

“Burned out shortly after the fight started,” Johnny explained with a smirk.  “Reed continues to underestimate how hotheaded I am.”

That got a metallic laugh.  “I’ll see what I can do about that for the future.  In the meantime, Cap could use some aerial backup on 46th.”

Johnny sped over to Captain America’s location, while mentally bracing himself to not act like a silly fanboy.  Because he had been right and it _had_ been Steve Rogers he’d seen fighting aliens a few months ago.  He got to the Captain’s location in time to see that famous shield take out two of the doombots.  Johnny flew down and let out a fireball at one coming from the opposite direction.  He allowed himself a second of giddiness -   _I’m fighting besides Captain America!_  - before settling back into a more professional mind set.

Iron Man must have warned him that Johnny’s comm was out, because the Captain made sure to give him good hand signals or the occasional shouted command as they fought.  They managed to clear out their area and had moved down a street to help Sue and Hawkeye when the robots all suddenly stopped working.  Johnny dropped to the ground near his sister.

“Looks like someone figured out where the command center was hiding,” Johnny remarked.

“Black Widow and Mr. Fantastic,” Captain America said with a nod.  He was obviously listening to something on his comm.  “Von Doom wasn’t there, though.  Just some flunky.”

“Typical,” Sue huffed.  “He’s damned slippery.  So, glad I didn’t put my dick in the crazy.”

“TMI!” Johnny protested as he turned to Captain America.  _Is he blushing?_ He was just starting to extend his hand and open his mouth to introduce himself when Iron Man landed between them. 

“Time to go, Cap!”  The metal clad hero wrapped an arm around the Captain’s waist and took off again without a word to anyone else.

“What the hell?” Johnny turned to the only Avenger in the area as Sue asked, “Are they always that rude?”

Hawkeye grimaced and shrugged.  “Cap’s kinda…uhm…vulnerable when he’s not fighting.”  He paused as something came over his comm.  Johnny noticed Sue listening, too.  “Debrief at the Tower.  You can see for yourself.  Come on – transport is this way.”  Hawkeye started walking down the street.

“I’ll meet you there,” Johnny responded.  “I’m sure it’ll be crowded enough with Ben on board.”

Just before he took off Hawkeye turned to him.  “Talk to Tony before you go inside!  I’m serious about Cap.  We’re not going to let you near him without a briefing.”

“Sure, whatever,” Johnny shrugged.  “Flame on!”

By air it was only a matter of minutes to reach Avenger’s Tower.  Johnny noticed Tony Stark sans armor standing on the balcony.  Johnny headed toward the billionaire, shutting off his flame just before touching down in order to not leave scorch marks where he landed. 

“So, I understand I have to listen to a lecture before I can go inside,” Johnny stated as he walked up to Stark.

Stark nodded tapping on his arc reactor.  “Unbonded omega, right?”

“Yeah, so?” Johnny raised an eyebrow at Stark.  “What’s that have to do with Captain America?”

“Cap’s an unbonded alpha from the ‘40s,” Stark replied with a sigh.  “He’s aware that there was a sexual revolution when suppressants because available in the early ‘60s, but its intellectual knowledge for him, not cultural.  He _knows_ to treat omegas as equals and mostly he will, but sometimes he slips up.  Please try not to take offense at it when he does.  Just patiently remind him.  He actually reacts fairly well to being teased about being an old-fashioned gentle-alpha.  Also, don’t take offense if he seems to not want to be near you.  This isn’t because of any snap decision to not like you, it’s because he’s shy around unbonded omegas.  Hell, he still shies from me at times and I was firmly bonded before he met me.”

“Oookay.  So, ignore what he looks like and remember that he’s part of my great grandfather’s generation.  Gotcha.”  _Note to self, study up on old-fashioned flirting._ “That it?”

“Actually, there is one more thing and this is the big one.  He’s unsuppressed.”

“What?”

“The super soldier serum changed his biology so that he’s mostly self-maintaining,” Stark explained. “The downside to this is that only a few medicines work on him.  Sexual suppressants don’t do a damn thing.  The serum also made him somewhat of an uber alpha.  So, when you walk in there you’re going to be hit by pheromones and I don’t care how well your own suppressants work, you’re going to respond.”

Johnny blinked as he took in all this information.  “So, is that why we haven’t heard he was awake until the Chitauri invasion?  You’re afraid he’s going to go Neanderthal in public?”

“Not exactly.  He’s actually better behaved than some suppressed alphas I’ve met, but Fury is concerned with the way omegas respond to him.”  Stark shrugged.  “He’s in the suit, which will lessen your reaction, because the material is made to filter the pheromones, but he’s also been fighting which means the suit is working overtime.  So….just don’t try to jump him or anything, okay?  You’ll likely scare the shit out of him.”

Johnny nodded.  _Note to self, flirting with Steve Rogers is right out._

As Johnny followed Stark toward the door he noticed an uncowled Capt. Rogers sitting on the couch and watching them through the glass.  The Captain stood up as the door popped open.  Johnny stepped through and was suddenly aware of the scent of Alpha.  Without meaning to, he dropped his shoulders and tilted his head slightly to the side.  However, he straightened his head up the second he noticed the other omega’s smirk.

“Steve Rogers. Johnny Storm.” Stark made the introduction. 

Without thinking Johnny held his hand out to shake.  “It’s an honor to meet you Captain Rogers.”

The Captain hesitated a moment, but then took Johnny’s hand.  “Mr. Storm.  You’re a good fighter.  Thank you for having my back today.”

_DO. NOT. SQUEE!_ Johnny smiled at the Captain.  “Please, call me Johnny.”

“I’m Steve.”  He released Johnny’s hand and took a step back. 

From overhead a British accented voice suddenly piped up.  “Sir, the delivery van is here with lunch.”

“Got it, Jarvis,” Stark responded.  He grinned at the other men.  “I have to go down and pay.  Play nice, Capcicle!”  He hopped into the elevator which closed immediately.

Stark missed Steve’s wince, but Johnny didn’t.  _Seems Stark may be wrong about teasing._ Johnny looked at the floor tongue-tied.  Normally, he wasn’t one to be at a loss for words, but alone with his hero he suddenly couldn’t think of anything to say.  He finally chuckled to himself.

“You know,” Johnny started glancing up at Steve. “I’ve got about a billion questions and all of them seem kinda stupid now that I’m standing in front of you.”

Steve gave a very slight smile.  “That’s okay.  They can’t be anywhere near as bad as some the reporters keep asking.  Why does every single one of them ask about my underwear?”

Johnny realized he’d looked back at the floor when Steve started talking.  _Now, I know what Stark means about responding despite my suppressants._ He looked back up with something flirty on his tongue, but swallowed it back down when he noticed Steve was blushing.  “They let reporters in to interview you?”

“No,” Steve said.  The tiny smile disappeared and his voice went slightly flat. “Everything is done remotely.  I’m not even sure what S.H.I.E.L.D. tells them so that they’ll cooperate.”

_Way to make him uncomfortable, Johnny._ The omega realized his gaze had dropped to the floor, again.  He scoured his brain for something to put the alpha back at ease.  When he finally looked up he caught Steve staring at him.

“See something you like?” Johnny asked with a grin, then mentally kicked himself as Steve’s eyes jerked to the side and he blushed again.

“Sorry,” the alpha apologized.  “I…I’d been told you looked like me, but…” He shrugged.  “Sorry.  It’s just weird.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Johnny said.  “I know what you mean.  I guess I’ve had much more time to get used to the idea of having a look-alike.”  He grinned at Steve and got the ghost of a smile back.  “Of course, you’re still bigger than me.”

Steve’s grin got slightly bigger.  “No, I’m not.”

Johnny raised his eyebrows and then realized that he was still slouching submissively.  He straightened his back and was surprised to find himself looking Steve in the eye.  “Oh.  I guess not.”  He studied the other man a second and then without thinking put his hands on the other’s shoulders.  Steve tensed, but didn’t move.  “Wow!  We really are the same size.  I could wear your clothes.” 

“Except you’d probably not like them,” Steve said jerking his eyes to the side again. 

Johnny dropped his hands suddenly as he realized that Steve was uncomfortable again.  _Am I going to screw up every time he starts to relax?_ Before he could ask what Steve meant, the elevator doors opened and Stark exited along with several members of both packs all of whom were carrying bags of food. 

“Agent Coulson, let me introduce you to my baby brother,” Sue said walking up to Johnny with a nondescript man in tow.  “Johnny, this is Agent Coulson.  He’s the Avenger’s liaison with S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Before Johnny could respond, Hawkeye draped himself over the omega’s shoulders. “Be nice.  Agent Coulson came back from the dead to kick the Avengers into a proper pack.”  He immediately let go of Johnny and walked toward the table.

“Right.”  Johnny smiled at the agent.  “I must say you’re a very well preserved zombie.”

One corner of the agent’s mouth twitched.  “Don’t worry.  I’m not the brain eating kind.”

“That’s good!”  For the life of him, Johnny couldn’t tell the man’s alignment.  Visually he came across as beta, but something about him screamed alpha.  “Voodoo priest on the payroll?”

“Classified.”

Johnny was quite happy that the elevator came up with the rest of the heroes and Stark called out that food was ready.  Coulson was fucking creepy.

Johnny had to admit he liked the way the Avengers debriefed.  They all sat around the dining table eating and talking about the fight while Jarvis (it took him about halfway through the meal to realize that Jarvis was the AI that Reed was so jealous of) recorded everything to be written into the proper forms later.  Coulson sat at one end of the table and prompted when he felt things were vague.  The Avengers were more than happy to segue into discussion on how to convince von Doom that constantly attacking New York to get at Reed was a bad plan.

When they sat down Johnny found himself gravitating to the end of the table where Steve was.  He tried very hard not to stare, but he did spend his time glancing over at the Captain every few minutes.  Steve plowed through a mountain of food – four burgers, two shakes and several bags of fries – and only contributed to the conversation when it directly involved him.  (And, yes, Johnny had to tamp down another inner squee when Steve pointedly told Sue what good backup he was in a fight.)  For the most part, though, no one talked to him.  Coulson did a couple of times prompting Steve to recall information on the fight and Tony tried several times to get a response out of Steve with what he probably thought was gentle teasing. 

Once the meal was over and the conversation had drifted off to speculation about von Doom’s hang-ups and other only vaguely related topics, Steve got up and politely informed the two packs that he needed a nap.

“Sleep well, Grandpa!” Tony called out cheerfully.

Steve gave Tony a pained smiled before turning for the elevator.  Johnny watched as he stepped inside and turned to face the doors.  As they started to close, Steve relaxed and Johnny was subjected to the most wretched thing he’d ever seen.  Steve Rogers’ face falling into abject misery just before the doors closed.

***

Johnny parked his bike in front of Avengers tower and took off his helmet.  He took a moment to check his hair in one of the rear view mirrors and then strode determinedly up to the front doors.  He’d been good for the last day and a half, stepping into his roll of Fantastic Four PR man to schmooze the media about the last battle and hopefully distract them from the fact that if Victor von Doom wasn’t so insanely jealous of Reed Richards he wouldn’t have been attacking New York in the first place.  But earlier at lunch he’d been surfing the web for battle video and found some footage of himself fighting alongside Captain America.  And that had reminded him of meeting Steve after and the glimpse he’d gotten of the Captain’s face as he left the communal floor.  These thoughts led Johnny to the idea of coming here to make friends with Steve.  He figured it would piss off at least a half dozen people, which just made the whole idea even more attractive. 

Johnny strode across the lobby like he owned the building.  He passed by the bank of elevators until he got to the one a little apart from the rest with the big red A on the front.  Unfortunately, he realized there was a kink in his plans.  Not only did he have no idea what floor Steve lived on, there wasn’t even a call button next to this elevator.  He pondered the situation a moment.

“Jarvis?” Johnny asked quietly.

“How can I help you Mr. Storm?” The AI responded at the same volume. 

Johnny sighed in relief.  “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by and visit with Steve.”

“Captain Rogers doesn’t see visitors,” Jarvis stated tonelessly.

“Does he not see visitors because he doesn’t want to or because S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t want him to?”

The AI hesitated a moment before replying, “The Captain has agreed that it’s in everyone’s best interest to limit the number of people exposed to him.”

“Right.  Look.”  Johnny ran a hand through his hair and wished for a face or at least a visible camera that he could focus on.  “I’ve already been ‘exposed’ to him and I didn’t do anything crazy.  The guy’s got to be bored shitless if he’s been locked up in this tower for the past few months.  I just want to help relieve the boredom.  I’m sure you monitor everything he does, can you tell me he wouldn’t benefit from a visitor?”

Jarvis didn’t answer, but after a moment the doors to the elevator opened.  With a triumphant grin, Johnny got in.  However, when the car stopped and the doors opened again, it was not Steve standing there waiting.

“Agent Zombie!  How are you today?” Johnny asked with his best media smile.

The corner of Agent Coulson’s mouth twitched slightly, but other than that his face remained impassive.  “Mr. Storm.  Jarvis informs me that you would like to visit with Captain Rogers.”

“Yeah, well, you know,” Johnny explained, “When I met him a couple of days ago, he seemed pretty cool and I’m pretty cool and I think it would totally rock for us to hang out since we share a face and all.”

“I see,” Coulson replied.  “So, you are saying that you’ve no desire to court him as a bondmate.”

“Seriously?” Johnny rolled his eyes.  “I have absolutely no desire to belong to any alpha, not even Steve Rogers.  I just thought he could use a friend.”

“Interesting choice of words.” Coulson studied him a moment. “Steve has friends.”

“Does he?” Johnny asked accusingly.  “Because when we sat down for lunch on Tuesday, I saw you talk to him about the battle, I saw Stark trying and failing to tease him, and I saw absolutely zero interaction between him and the rest of the pack.  Didn’t seem like there was much friendship going on there.”

Coulson didn’t answer right away, just continued to study the omega.  Johnny was again struck by the fact that he couldn’t tell the agent’s alignment.  _Seriously creepy._

“Captain Rogers may not let you stay,” Coulson finally said. “It’s not like he can call your mother for permission to have an unsupervised visit.  If he does: No flirting.  Do not ask for food or drink.  Do not touch him.  If you aren’t looking for a bondmate, then you need to make sure he has no reason to think that’s what you’re there for.”

“Understood.  Really, I just want to be his friend.” 

Coulson’s lips twitched again. _Was that supposed to be a smile?_ “Good luck, Mr. Storm.”

With that the doors to the elevator closed again and the car continued upward.  Johnny just restrained himself from doing some sort of celebratory dance step and instead whipped out his phone.  He hit a number on the speed dial just as the doors opened.

“Johnny? What are you doing here?” Steve stood in front of the elevator looking perplexed.

“Hey, Steve!” Johnny grinned.  “Out of curiosity, what kind of underwear _do_ you wear?”

“What?”

“ _Johnny?”_

“Hi, Sis,” Johnny said into the phone.  “Tell Captain Rogers that you trust him to not molest me or try to bond me or whatever it is that you alphas worry about when you get all territorial.”

Johnny didn’t wait for Sue to answer, just held the phone out to Steve.  Steve frowned at him but took the phone. 

“Hello Mrs. Storm,” he said politely.  He listened a moment. “Yes, ma’am.”

Johnny couldn’t hear what Sue said, but the Captain looked slightly amused. “I see…No, I understand…” Steve’s mouth quirked up into a grin as he listened further. “I can do that…It was nice talking to you, too.” 

Steve held the phone back toward Johnny.  “She wants to speak to you.”

“Yeah?” Johnny said into the phone.

_“Johnny, so help me, if you do anything to upset him, I will lock you in a room full of fire retardant and leave you there for a week!”_ his sister exclaimed.

“Love you, too, Sis,” Johnny said with a smirk.  “I’ll be good.  Promise.”

_“Fine.  Don’t wear out your welcome.”_ She disconnected the call after that.

“So,” Johnny said smiling up at the alpha.  “What did she say that made you grin?”

“She said if you get annoying, I have permission to throw you out a window,” Steve replied.  He stepped back to allow the omega in. 

Johnny had to brace himself as he stepped out of the elevator.  The scent of alpha in Steve’s den was almost overwhelming.  He gritted his teeth and then looked about as he walked into the living room.  That was enough to partially distract him from the scent.  The place was huge with a bank of windows making up the wall to the left.  Part of the space near the windows held an easel and art supplies.  The furniture in the rest of the room was more modern than he would expect, with a huge TV mounted on one wall. 

“Nice crib,” Johnny said heading towards the large sofa.  “How much of this floor is yours?”

“All of it,” Steve said following Johnny to the couch.

“Sweet!”  Johnny fell back into the cushions on one end, slouching down to look smaller and then straightening his shoulders when he realized what he was doing. “I guess if you have to be locked up in a tower, it doesn’t hurt to be locked up in Stark’s.”

Steve’s face went blank again. _Damnit, gotta watch my mouth._

“Did S.H.I.E.L.D. send you?” Steve stood before the omega with arms crossed and face serious.  Johnny’s gaze dropped to the floor.

“Uhm, no,” Johnny replied glancing up at Steve.  “Why would they?”

Steve looked annoyed.  “They keep trotting omegas past me hoping I’ll find someone I want to bond with.  Although, you’re not even slightly like the type that they normally introduce me to.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t send me,” Johnny stated firmly looking Steve in the eye.  “I have no desire to find a mate.  I rather enjoy the bachelor lifestyle.”

Steve looked Johnny over and then relaxed.  “So, why are you here?”

“Because I’m a pathetic fanboy who desperately wants to cross ‘making friends with Captain Steve Rogers’ off his bucket list,” Johnny said flippantly, hoping that Steve wouldn’t accept the statement at face value even though it was totally true. His gaze dropped back to Steve’s shoes and he found himself slouching down again. 

“Bucket list?” Johnny glanced up to see that Steve looked more amused than annoyed, so he counted that as a win.

“The list of things you want to do before you kick the bucket,” Johnny explained.  Going by Steve’s face, he got that reference. “So, is this doable?”

Steve looked uncomfortable.  “I don’t mind you being here, but we should tell Coulson.”

“I’ve already talked to Agent Zombie.” Steve’s eyebrow shot up at that, but Johnny plowed ahead.  “He made me swear I’d behave myself, but let me come up, since Jarvis can chaperone.”

“Okay.” Steve slowly took a seat at the opposite end of the couch from Johnny. 

They sat silent for a minute while Johnny stared at his feet and scrambled for something to say.  He hadn’t planned anything past trying to get onto Steve’s floor.  Surprisingly, Steve was the one who spoke first.

“Agent Zombie?”

“Yeah,” Johnny replied.  “Hawkeye mentioned that he came back from the dead.  On top of that, I can’t tell his alignment to save my life.  It’s creepy.”

Johnny glanced up at Steve in time to see him nod.  “It takes getting used to.  However, when he’s just being Phil, it’s pretty obvious he’s an omega.”

“Omega? Wow, I was way off,” Johnny said. “I pegged him for an alpha; _maybe_ a beta.”

“No, he’s definitely an omega.  He and Clint are bonded.”

Johnny was shocked enough to look Steve in the eye at that.  “Oookay.  I think we need a new topic.  This one is blowing my mind.”

They lapsed into silence again, but at least this time Steve had that small smile on his face.  Johnny glanced around the room looking for something.  His eyes fell on the easel.

“So, the art thing wasn’t made up for the comics?”

“Hmm?” Steve followed Johnny’s gaze.  “Oh, no.  That’s real.  I was actually drawing for a comic book when I got picked for Project Rebirth.  I’m not the most sophisticated artist on the planet, but I’m all right.”

“That’s so cool!  There’s been so much propaganda tied up with the Captain America legend, that it’s hard to know sometimes what is real for Steve Rogers and what was made up.” Johnny grinned at Steve and tried not to hunch his shoulders.  “So, what else do you do between bouts of fighting Evil?”

“Oh, uhm…” Steve shrugged.  “Nothing exciting.  I’ve got my own gym, so I work out a lot.  Do a lot of reading – history and such, trying to catch up.  And I’ve got a whole list of movies and TV shows that the pack thinks I need to watch in order to understand modern culture.  Don’t do much of that, though.” 

“Why not?” Johnny asked.  “Just prefer to read?”

“No, I like movies.”  Steve paused before he continued.  “It’s just nicer to watch movies with other people.  Jarvis is great for explaining references I don’t get, but…”  He shrugged again.

“But it’s nice to have a person there,” Johnny finished for him nodding.  “So, where’s the list?  Let’s watch something.  I guarantee that I can explain anything you don’t get about modern culture.”

Steve looked surprised.  “Uh, Jarvis?”

The TV came on with a list of movies.  Johnny grabbed the remote and started scrolling through the titles.  “You live with Tony Stark and you’ve not seen _Star Wars_ yet?”

Steve frowned.  “I don’t like war movies.”

“This is classic science fiction!” Johnny exclaimed.  “Or is it comic book reality that you like sci-fi?”

“No, I like science fiction,” Steve said looking amused at Johnny’s outburst.  “So, I guess you want to watch this?”

“Yes!”  Johnny selected the movie.  “Pity we can’t get the original.  Lucas came back years after he made it and made a bunch of changes using CGI and basically fucked it up.  Then made sure you could only buy the new version.”

“Mr. Stark has the original in the library,” Jarvis volunteered.

“Sweet!” Johnny crowed.  “Seriously, Steve, you watch the original Star Wars trilogy and I’ll bet half of what comes out of Stark’s mouth will start making sense.”

“Okay,” Steve said with a grin.  “Don’t start the movie yet, Jarvis.”  He stood up.  “I’ll be right back.”

Johnny settled into the sofa and waited for Steve to get back.  Several minutes later he returned with his hands full.  He put a bowl of popcorn and a bottle of porter on the coffee table in front of Johnny and then settled back on the opposite side of the sofa with his own bowl and bottle.

“Okay, Jarvis,” Steve said before taking a sip of his beer.  He didn’t say anything about the food to the omega.

Johnny waited until the movie started to pick up his beer and popcorn.  It was a nice move on behalf of Steve.  He acted as a good host without directly offering food.  They both settled back to enjoy the movie.

***

Johnny called ahead for the second visit (calling from the parking garage totally counts), so Steve was standing in front of the elevator with a smile when the doors opened to his floor.  _Shy of omegas my ass, Stark._ He was wearing a T-shirt and sweats instead of the neat button down plaid and khakis he was dressed in on the last visit.

“I catch you heading to the gym?” Johnny asked as he looked Steve over.

“Nah, I was painting,” Steve explained motioning towards his art area.  “I don’t have anything old to paint in, so I use my workout gear.”

Before Johnny could respond, his phone gave off a text alert.  He grinned as he read the text and then handed the phone to Steve.

_*Sis, mind if I visit Steve this afternoon?*_

_*Behave!  Tell him defenestration is still a viable option*_

Steve chuckled as he handed the phone back.  “Sounds like she likes me better than she likes you.”

“Wouldn’t be hard,” Johnny replied, making a face.  “So, can I see what you’re working on or is it a secret?”

“Both?” Steve shrugged.  “It’s a surprise for Tony and Pepper.  Their anniversary is coming up.  You can look at it, if you promise not to tell.”

“Not a hard promise to make,” Johnny replied.  He then followed Steve over to the drafting table.  A sheet of heavy paper lay there with a light sketch of Tony from the chest up, armored but without the helmet.  He was smiling at Pepper with a submissive tilt to his head. Pepper was standing behind him with her hands on his shoulders and kissing his temple. The two radiated happiness from the page.  Johnny had caught it early in the coloring process.  The watercolors still looked flat with little in the way of highlights or details.

“Wow! I can already tell how awesome it’s going to look and you’ve only started,” Johnny exclaimed.  “So, can you paint and visit or should I clear out.”

Steve grinned and shrugged.  “I can, but I’d already hit a stopping place. I need to let this layer dry before I add to it.  Just give me a few minutes to clean up.”

While Steve rinsed out brushes and put away paints, Johnny chatted about the deal he’d sealed that morning to be a spokes model for Triumph motorcycles.  Eventually, Steve waved Johnny toward the couch to pick a movie while he disappeared into what Johnny figured was the kitchen. 

“You haven’t seen Firefly yet?” Johnny asked as Steve placed a stout and a bowl of potato chips on the coffee table.

“I don’t have a high opinion of modern TV shows.” Steve said with a shrug as he sat down.  To Johnny’s joy he didn’t cling to the armrest this time, so there was only about half a cushion between them. 

“Okay, no, we have to change that,” Johnny stated as he reached for his beer.  “Granted a lot of TV is crap, but anything with Joss Whedon’s name on it is awesome.  Firefly only ran one season because the TV executives were dumbasses, but they did follow it up with a very successful movie.  So, we’ll watch an episode or two and if you really don’t like it, then we’ll watch something else.”

“That sounds fair,” Steve said popping a chip in his mouth.  “Jarvis, please start the first episode.”

They ended up watching three and a half episodes before the emergency alarm on Johnny’s phone went off.  He toed off his boots and started stripping down to his uniform even as he answered the phone.

“Sis?  What’s up?”

_“I need you over here now!  Reed’s opened up the portal again and there are some nasty things coming through it.”_

Johnny rolled his eyes as he started unbuttoning his shirt.  “I thought we’d agreed that Reed wasn’t allowed anywhere near that thing after the last time.  I’ll be there in a few minutes.”  He tossed the phone onto the couch and finished pulling off his shirt.  “You have a balcony on this level?”

“No,” Steve replied, “You can take the elevator to the top floor.  Stairs to the roof are immediately to the right.”

“Cool,” Johnny said pulling his boots back on.  “I’ll be back as soon as we clean up whatever fucked up thing Reed did this time.”  He motioned toward the TV as he stood.  “Go ahead and finish the episode. I’ve seen it several times already.”

“Do you need me to suit up and help?” Steve asked following him to the elevator.

Johnny shook his head.  “It isn’t the first time this has happened.  We should be good, but I’ll call if we need more help.”  The elevator doors opened and he jumped in.  He grinned back at Steve.  “See ya!”

The elevator doors shut and the car sped to the top floor.  Johnny took the stairs two at a time and launched himself as soon as he hit the roof.  A moment later and Iron Man joined him. 

“Hey, Zippo!” Stark called out.  “Your brother-in-law called me to help with some malfunctioning equipment.  You know what’s up?”

“Reed has this thing that lets him access other dimensions.  But he has no way of knowing what’s on the other side when he opens it.  From what Sue said, something nasty came through this time.”

“He doesn’t have it in any kind of containment chamber?” Even with the voice being filtered, Johnny could hear the disbelief in Iron Man’s tone. 

“He’s building one, he says,” Johnny replied.

“Damn, you live an interesting life,” Stark remarked.  “As in Chinese curse interesting.”

“Yeah, well…”

***

It was after midnight when they finally got the last of the aliens back through the portal and closed it up.  Johnny thought about waiting until morning to get his things from Steve, but remembered he had an early photo shoot.  He really needed his phone and car back before then.  So, he followed Stark back to the tower and took the elevator to Steve’s floor.

He walked quiet as he could to the couch.  He smiled when he saw his clothes folded neatly on the coffee table with his cell phone sitting on top of them.  He toed off his boots so he could get his jeans on.  As he dressed he noticed the other item on the coffee table was a sketch pad opened to what Johnny first thought was a self portrait.  He picked it up to get a better look and realized that it was a detailed drawing of himself.  His shoulders were submissively slumped, but he was smiling cockily directly at the observer.  He whispered out a “Wow” and debated asking Jarvis to bring the lights up a little so he could see it better.

“Johnny?”

The omega jumped at his name and dropped the sketchbook.  “Oh, Steve,” he said as the lights came up. “Sorry.  I was trying not to wake you.”

Steve grinned.  “You should have been louder then.  Soldier, remember?  It’s the quiet noises that might be someone trying to kill you.”

“Ah, okay,” Johnny replied.  He took a deep breath trying to settle himself and looked the alpha over.  Steve looked good just woken up.  He was wearing a pair of grey sleep pants and nothing else.  “So, no chest hair?”

Steve blushed.  “Uh, yeah.  Apparently, the super serum didn’t think body hair was important.”

“Yeah,” Johnny breathed out.  _So, that’s how far the blush goes._ He stared a moment longer and then shook himself.  “I’m more tired than I thought.  I need to get back to the Baxter Building.”

“I’ve got a guest room, if you want,” Steve said shyly. 

Johnny realized what he wanted was to follow the alpha back to _his_ room, but that would be the first step to a ridiculously bad plan.  So, instead he shook his head as he pulled his boots back on.

“I’ve got to be out to a shoot early tomorrow.  I’d rather stay up a little later now and sleep to the last minute in the morning.  Just the way I’m wired.”  He smiled at Steve.  “Maybe we can have a sleepover some other time.”

***

Johnny fell into a semi-routine after that.  If he didn’t have anything else scheduled, he headed over to the tower to visit Steve.  When he was busy, he still tried to take time out to call or text.  He was amused when Steve figured out the camera feature on his phone and started regularly texting arty pictures of whatever mundane thing caught his attention.  They both made a point of calling after a fight to assure the other that they were okay. 

A couple of months went by before Johnny realized what a large lifestyle change he’d made.  He stopped clubbing, his drinking had almost been reduced down to the occasional beer with Steve, and he hadn’t gotten laid in ages.  He also noticed that his “friends” made little effort to get his attention when it became obvious that he was no longer interested in buying the rounds at the latest hot nightspot.  Johnny was surprised to realize that he was totally okay with this 

***

“Steeeeeve!” Johnny crowed into his phone.  “Are you allowed down in the parking garage?”

“Uhm…dunno.  Is there anyone else down there?”

“It’s Sunday.  There is no one here but me and my brand new awesome ride that you most definitely have to come down and see in person,” Johnny said.  “Tell Jarvis I promise to set fire to any stray omega that shows up unexpectedly.  You can even invite Agent Zombie to come hold your hand if it will make you feel better.”

Steve gave off a disapproving huff.  “I’ll be right down.” 

Johnny grinned as the call was disconnected.  Steve might pretend to disapprove of Coulson’s nickname, but Johnny was pretty sure that the huff was accompanied by a grin.

In short order the Avengers’ private elevator opened and Steve stepped out into the garage.  Johnny smiled and went into spokes model mode.

“This,” he said spreading his arms to indicate the massive motorcycle, “is the Triumph Rocket III Roadster. It sports a 2294cc liquid cooled in-line 3 cylinder engine; 164bhp; 163 footpounds of torque at 2750rpm; and,” Johnny swept his hand down the exhaust pipes, “very sexy 3 into 1 into 2 chrome-plated stainless steel pipes.”

Steve had walked around the bike grinning as Johnny went through his spiel.  He ran his hand across the tank and then bent down to get a better look at the engine. 

“On top of that, I got it at a discount in exchange for some promo work.”  Johnny leaned over the bike to look at Steve.  “I _so_ scored.”

Steve grinned up at the omega. “This is really swell, Johnny,” he said straightening up.

“Swell?” Johnny realized as soon as the word left his mouth that he’d made a mistake.  Steve’s face closed up and his relaxed stance disappeared.

“Sorry if my geriatric slang bothers you,” Steve said stiffly.

“No!  That’s not it!” _Tony Stark, I swear I’m going to punch you in the face for making Steve so damned self-conscious._ “Swell…swell.”  Johnny pretended to ponder the word a moment as he stepped around the bike to stand by Steve.  “No, I like the sound of that.  I could use a word like that.  Yeah!  Look at my swell new ride.  Yeah, I cou– Oh, my god!”  Johnny let a look of horror cross his face as he grabbed Steve’s bicep.  The alpha’s stiffness was swiftly replaced with concern.

“What’s wrong, Johnny?”

“Steve!” Johnny allowed his voice to get melodramatic.  “Oh, my god, you’re turning me into a _hipster._   I can’t be a hipster!  I’m too pretty to wear a trilby and pretend to only like things ironically.”

Steve blinked at him a moment and then a fond, if somewhat confused grin spread across his face.  “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Maybe not,” Johnny replied triumphantly, “But I made you smile!”

Steve huffed out a short laugh.  “Yeah, you did, Johnny.  You make me smile.”

***

Johnny walked in the front door of the Baxter Building after the latest round of media hand holding to find Agent Coulson waiting for him in the lobby.  Except this wasn’t the Coulson Johnny was used to.  His demeanor was much more relaxed and for a change it wasn’t so hard to believe he was an omega.

“Agent Zombie!  So, what brings S.H.E.I.L.D. to the Baxter Building?” Johnny asked flippantly.

“Actually, Mr. Storm, I’m not here in official S.H.E.I.L.D. capacity,” Agent Coulson replied with a real smile. 

_Okay, this may be even creepier than normal for him._   Johnny hit the call button for the elevator.  “Really?  So, why is Phil Coulson waiting in the lobby for me?”

The elevator doors opened and they stepped in.  Johnny hit the code for the penthouse and then turned to Coulson with a look that he hoped came across as polite curiosity on his face.

“It’s about Steve,” Coulson began.

“Makes sense seeing as that’s the only thing we really have in common,” Johnny replied.

“Perhaps I should start with the fact that you might know me as RangerPhil online,” Coulson said with a bland smile.

“From the Captain America boards?”  Johnny asked with surprise.  “Didn’t you back me up about a year ago when some asshole started claiming the USO girls were Steve Roger’s harem?”

“Yes, that was me, although I’ve given up posting on the boards now that I work with him.  It just seems a little creepy,” Coulson admitted. 

_You think that’s_ _creepy?_ The elevator opened to the penthouse, so Johnny led Phil to his suite.  “Okay, so I know you have Steve’s best interests at heart.” He motioned to the couch and then sat in the love seat opposite him.  “What’s this all about?”

Phil settled on the couch with a sigh.  “You were right when we first talked about Steve.  He didn’t have any real friends.  The pack we created to stop Loki functioned fine in the field, but not so much outside of battle.  And – as much as this pains me to admit – a good part of this is Director Fury’s fault.  He’s mishandled Steve on every turn – continues to mishandle him even now – and it’s hurting Steve’s ability to assimilate and lead the pack as its proper alpha.”

“’Mishandle.’ There’s an understatement,” Johnny scoffed.  “Do you have any idea how angry Steve was after his last meeting with Fury?  He paraded a fucking omega in the first stages of heat in front of Steve trying to push a bond!  As if Steve is incapable of reasonable thought in the presence of pheromones!  If that was the case, he’d have bonded sometime back in the ‘30s and we’d be dealing with a basket case instead of a super soldier now.”

Phil nodded.  “We’re on the same page here, Johnny.  I’ve been arguing with the director about Steve since he was first found in the ice.  For some reason Fury has a huge blind spot when it comes to the best way to handle him.”

“No, shit,” Johnny snorted out.  “To start with, Steve isn’t interested in some ‘50s housewife version of an omega.  A glance at his history shows he was attracted to strong betas.  Peggy Carter was holding her own as an officer at a time when almost all officers were alphas.  Bucky Barnes spent most of his life _protecting_ Steve.   He’s not going to look twice at someone who can’t look him in the eye.”

“Exactly,” Phil agreed.  “Which is why I’m here.”

“You want me to help you find an appropriate mate for Steve?” Johnny asked trying to keep a growl out of his voice.  _Like fuck I’m going to help you manipulate him._

“No, I’ve already found a good match,” Phil replied.  “What I’m here to do is convince you to change your stance on bonding.”

Johnny blinked at Phil in surprise.  “What?”

“I think you would make the perfect bondmate for Steve,” Phil explained.

“Whoa!  Whoa!  Whoa!”  Johnny threw his hands up as if warding off an attack.  “What part of ‘I will NOT belong to an alpha’ do you not get?!”

“No, I think I get that statement,” Phil answered.  “What I think you don’t get is the fact that your foster parents were a poor example of how a bond is supposed to work.”

Johnny clenched his jaw and drew a deep breath through his nose.  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he finally asked.   _How much do you know?_

“That means your foster mother was an exceedingly submissive omega and your foster father took full advantage of it,” Phil explained.  “You should not use that as a measure of how a bonded couple should behave.  You only have to look as far as your sister and her wife to see a much healthier bond.”

Johnny closed his eyes and concentrated on not getting mad.  Setting his own apartment on fire would be a bad move. 

When he didn’t answer, Phil continued. “Steve likes you.  A lot.  He’s _comfortable_ with you.  He’s also, as you’ve noted, not interested in a mate that will wait on him hand and foot; he wants a mate that has his back.  You are perfectly capable of doing that.  He talks fondly about you.  And he’s finally making friends with his pack, because he doesn’t feel so out of place anymore.  That’s because of you as well.”

Johnny found himself staring at Phil.  “I’m…not good bondmate material,” he finally said.

“Really?  Because I’ve been keeping an eye on you since you started making friends with Steve, and I think you’re excellent bondmate material _for him_ ,” Phil state firmly.  “Shortly after the two of you started spending time together, you stopped the partying and the promiscuity.  Jarvis informs me that the two of you cuddle when watching movies – “

“That’s not cuddling.  That’s leaning against each other because Steve’s so fucking touch starved it’s painful - ”

“And you spend all your free time at the tower,” Phil continued over Johnny’s interruption.  “Really, you’re only a half step out from being bonded already.”

Johnny held his hands up again to stem Phil’s words.  “Okay, look…I’m not going to lie.  I am rather attracted to Steve, and it’s not just because physically we’re a matched set.”  He smirked a moment before going back to a serious demeanor.  “But I’m not…I don’t think in the long run, Steve would be happy with me.”

Phil tilted his head, signally that he was finished arguing.  “Okay, I won’t push further.  I’m just asking you to think about it.”  He rose and held out his hand.  “Whatever you decide, I just want to say thank you for helping Steve find his center.”

Johnny stood and took his hand.  “Okay.  I’ll…think about it.  But don’t expect me to change my mind.”

***

Johnny grunted as Steve’s weight landed on him.  The blonde grinned.  “Well?”

“Okay, uncle,” Johnny conceded.  “But only because I don’t feel like setting you on fire.”

Steve laughed and jumped up.  He offered a hand to Johnny and then hauled him to his feet with little effort.

“You’re doing a lot better,” Steve praised.  “You’d at least be able to hold your own in a bar fight without resorting to your super power now.”

“Great.”  Johnny rubbed at his side where Steve’s last kick had landed.  “Except that it’s been weeks since I’ve been to a bar.”

Steve’s grin went a little shy.  “You know, you don’t have to spend all your spare time here.  I’m sure you’ve got a lot of friends who’re missing you.”

“Not really,” Johnny said with a shrug.  “I’ve got a lot of acquaintances, but not a lot of friends.  I think it’s safe to say, you’ve become my best friend.”

Steve’s grin got bigger.  “It’s mutual.  And not just because I’m limited to who I can spend time with.”

_Shit, Steve, stop being so adorable._   Johnny smiled and tried not to look at Steve, but couldn’t help himself.  He’d spent the last week thinking a lot about his conversation with Phil.  It was getting harder not to look at Steve in terms of _his_ alpha. 

“Another round?” Steve asked.

“Better not,” Johnny replied.  “I can’t risk you bruising my pretty face.”

Steve chuckled.  “I think I’ve done a good job of not endangering your modeling career,” he said.  “So, you gonna to join me in the shower this time or are you gonna to burn it off?”

Johnny smirked, then jumped.  “Flame on!”  He hovered for a moment and then turned off the flame and dropped to the mat.  “Much more efficient than that water thing.”

“Yeah, well, some of us don’t have that option,” Steve said turning toward the gym door.  “Come keep me company at least.”

Johnny followed Steve to his bathroom and settled himself on the counter.  He kept his eyes firmly on his boots as Steve stripped out of his gym clothes and stepped into the shower.  That didn’t mean he avoided seeing Steve in all his glory due to really good peripheral vision, but at least he wasn’t blatant about ogling.  He hoped.

“Can I ask you a really nosy question?” he asked as Steve started the water.

“Boxer briefs,” Steve said.

“What?!”

Steve giggled – _Giggling?  Seriously? –_ and then stuck his head out from behind the shower curtain.  “That wasn’t what you wanted to know about?  ‘Cause I distinctly remember you asking about my underwear the first time you came by.”

Johnny stuck his tongue out at Steve, who giggled again before ducking behind the curtain.  _Is he flirting?  Am I flirting back?  Shit.  Agent Zombie, I’m going to kill you._

“Okay, so, I had a conversation with Phil recently,” Johnny began. “And it was kinda confusing, since he and I agreed on something and I didn’t expect it.  On top of that he _smiled_ at me and that was fucking weird.”

“Phil?” Steve asked.  “Since when is he not Agent Zombie?  And that’s not a question.”

“Phil, because he came to me in a personal capacity and it was the first time I believed you that he’s an omega,” Johnny explained.  “And I’m getting to the question; I just needed to set it up.”

“Okay,” Steve replied, muffled by the shower.  “So the question is…?”

“Patience,” Johnny said with a sigh.  “Phil and I discussed the debacle of your last meeting with Fury.  I guess I’m just curious as to why you’re not interested in bonding considering the freedom you’d gain from being taken off the market.”

There was a long silence from the shower and Johnny didn’t think it was due to soap.

“I’m picky,” Steve finally said.

“Picky?” Johnny prompted.

“Picky,” Steve stated firmly.  There was a long pause before he continued.  “I know what I want and it’s not what Fury wants me to want.”  There was another long pause that sounded like Steve was rinsing off.  “I’ll admit it’s been tempting at times, but I’m not going to accept anyone who doesn’t meet my criteria.   I won’t be saddled with a… a _submissive_ mate just to be allowed to leave the tower.”

_Shit. Shit. Shit._  “You, Steven Rogers, are an exceptional person,” Johnny stated.

“So, I’ve been told,” Steve said shutting off the shower.  “And – as Tony would say – ‘Sucks to be me.’”

_GodDAMNit!_

***

Johnny wasn’t sure which was more humiliating.  Lying on your back with your feet in metal stirrups while someone pumps enough hormones into you to get to your uterus or having to get cleaned up, dressed, and then look them in the eye while discussing what they did or did not find.  He sat down carefully in the guest chair in front of his uterologist’s desk and then squirmed at the feel of the butt plug that was currently keeping his bodily fluids from staining his jeans.  _Okay, yeah, the discussion after is definitely more humiliating._   At least he’d found a uterologist who was also a male omega and therefore theoretically had to deal with this himself once a year.

“So, Mr. Storm, it’s been five years since the last time you allowed yourself to go into heat,” the doctor observed.

“Sounds right,” Johnny agreed, silently reminding himself that there was actually something more humiliating than the yearly physical.

The doctor nodded.  “It’s time you have a controlled heat.”

“Uh,” Johnny frowned.  “Can it wait a bit? I’ve got a busy schedule with photo shoots and meet and greets and stuff, not to mention the unpredictability of being a super hero…”  He trailed off at the look on the doctor’s face.

“Mr. Storm.  Johnny.  You cannot live on suppressants indefinitely.  The changes to your physiology since your radiation exposure allowed you to go much longer than normal, however I noticed some warning signs today.  If you don’t go into heat pretty much immediately, you’re liable to start having physical issues.  Foremost, you could render yourself sterile.”

“I’m not terribly keen on the baby making thing, so that’s not really a negative,” Johnny stated firmly.

The doctor sighed.  “There are other possibilities not the least of which is uterine cancer.  I’m not going to renew your prescription for suppressants until you’ve gone through a controlled heat.  Do you have an alpha to help you with it?”

Johnny surprised himself by nearly saying yes. But as much as he would love to have Steve’s knot in him, it wasn’t going to happen, _especially_ while in heat.  The alpha would never force a bond on an omega, but it would be cruel to hold that possibility so close to him.  Johnny shook his head in answer to the doctor’s question.

“Well, I’ll prescribe you a pheromone diffuser then. That should help you get started and over it quicker.  If you don’t have a knotted dildo, you’ll want to pick one of those up today as well.”

Johnny slouched down in his chair.  “Swell.”

***

Johnny felt over the effects of his doctor visit when he stepped off the elevator onto Steve’s floor, so the way his body reacted to the scent of alpha took him by surprise.  He stood in the living room tasting the air in a daze.  How had he not realized how _good_ Steve smelled?

“Mr. Storm? The Captain is in his gym,” Jarvis informed him.

“Oh.  Thanks, Jar.”  Johnny made his way to the gym, his mouth watering over the alpha’s scent.

“Johnny!” Steve stopped pummeling the heavy bag and made his way across the room to Johnny.  “How was your doc…”  He trailed off and came to a halt.  Johnny could see him tasting the air.  “You smell…different.”

“Shit.  Sorry, Steve.  I thought the hormones would be out of my system by the time I got here.” Johnny locked his knees to keep from leaping forward and wrapping himself around his friend.  _Shit! Shit! Shit! I should have called instead._ “I – uh – wanted to let you know that I won’t be around for the next week or so.  The doc wants me to go into heat.  He wouldn’t renew my script for suppressants.”

Steve licked his lips and slowly looked Johnny over.  It took all of Johnny’s will power to not tilt his head and whine at the alpha. 

“Do you have someone to help you through it?” Steve asked slowly. 

“I’ve got an awesome dildo and a chemical diffuser,” Johnny replied.  “They’re enough to get me through.”

Steve breathed deeply and moved slowly towards Johnny.  “I could help,” he offered.  “I know you don’t want to bond, but it’s got to be better with a real knot.  A…dildo won’t be able to hold you when you come apart.”

Johnny’s feet were glued to the spot and he couldn’t take his eyes off of Steve as he _stalked_ forward.  There was a slight spike of panic until he reminded himself that this was his friend.  Someone he cared about and respected.  Someone he suddenly really, _really_ wanted to throw him down and fuck him through the floor. 

“Yeah, well…” Johnny swallowed and started again in a rush.  “I didn’t want to tempt you with a bond and I should really be going right now.”

Steve placed a hand on his shoulder.  “I won’t bond you,” he said softly.  “But I’d really like to help you with this.”  He brought a hand up to caress Johnny’s face.  “Let me do this for you.”

Johnny closed his eyes and shivered even as he leaned into Steve’s hand. For the first time in ages, he didn’t want to do this alone.“Yes, please.”

“Okay.”  Steve pulled him into a hug.  Johnny dropped his head to Steve’s shoulder and breathed deeply.  He whined. 

“Shhhhh,” Steve hushed stroking his head.  “We’ve got time.” He nuzzled Johnny’s neck, kissing and licking.  “I’ll be so good for you Johnny.  You won’t regret this.”

“I’ll regret it if you don’t get started,” Johnny growled.  His hands were fisting in Steve’s T-shirt.

Steve chuckled and then suddenly swept Johnny into a bridal carry.  “Jarvis, please call Sue Storm and let her know where her brother is and why.  Reassure her that I won’t bond him against his will.”

“Yes, Captain.”

It should have been humiliating to be carried to Steve’s room, but Johnny just decided it gave him a chance to get his mouth on Steve’s ear without having to concentrate on his own feet.  He felt rewarded by the fact that the alpha was panting heavily when they finally made it to the bed.

“Jesus, Johnny!  That mouth should be illegal,” Steve exclaimed tossing him on the bed.  He started stripping.  “Come on, get undressed.”

_Yes, yes, yes!_   Johnny kicked his shoes off and began removing his clothes and throwing them across the room.  And then suddenly Steve was on him – kissing, licking, tasting – Johnny squirmed under the alpha wanting to be touched everywhere at once.

“What’s this?” Steve asked tugging gently at the plug Johnny still had in him.

Johnny moaned loudly.  “A butt plug,” he managed to pant out.  “To, you know, keep my clothes from getting stained.”

“No, I don’t know,” Steve said with a wicked grin.  He tugged again and the grin got wider as Johnny squirmed and whined.  “But I think I like the results.”

“Steeeve!”  Johnny was having a hard time thinking over the hormones that were flooding his system.  “Plea…Please!”

“Please, what?” Steve asked with a growl.  He pulled the plug out slowly. 

Johnny managed to open his eyes in time to see Steve’s pupils dilate rapidly.  _Oh, fuck!  Yes!_   Without any apparent effort, Steve flipped him over.  Johnny started automatically raising himself to his knees and elbows.  Before he’d even gotten into position, Steve’s hands were on his hips and he could feel the alpha’s hot breath as he nuzzled Johnny’s ass.  The slick that the plug had been holding in started oozing out and down his thighs.

“Oh, Johnny, why were you hiding this?!”  Steve slurred out as he licked eagerly at Johnny’s hole.  “So, sweet...”

Johnny whined as he settled himself in a proper position.  He was rewarded with a nip to his butt and then Steve was covering him.    Steve licked a couple of times at the nape of his neck where the bonding gland was and then deliberately moved to one shoulder where he bit down with a growl.

Johnny whined again and pushed up against the alpha.  “Please, Steve.  I need…”  He couldn’t articulate further.  Steve’s scent was overwhelming him.

“I know what you need,” Steve whispered.  Johnny felt him shift just before a couple of fingers eased their way into his slick hole.  “Oh, god, yessss.  Look how ready you are.  Why did you hide this, Sweetheart?”  Johnny almost sobbed when the fingers were removed.  “Shhhhh!  I’ve got you!” Johnny felt something large and blunt pressing against his hole.  He spread his legs wider and pushed back trying to encourage Steve.  Slowly Steve pushed forward.  Johnny arched under him trying to get more.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were this far along?” Steve asked as he nipped and licked at Johnny’s shoulder.  His forward motion stopped and Johnny could feel the knot pressing at his hole.  “It didn’t have to be this urgent.”  Steve started long slow thrusts.  Johnny had lost words at this point and allowed his body to run on instincts.  He settled into the most accepting position he could as the room filled with his own desperate scent.

“So beautiful!” Steve whispered with a reverent tone.  “You are so strong and independent and yet here you are.”  Johnny pushed back harder hoping to catch Steve’s knot.  Steve laughed.  “You are just as demanding like this as you are when you’re thinking straight.”  Johnny was rewarded with more kisses and licks. “You have no idea how much I’ve wanted this.  You are just…so…incredible.” 

Steve’s thrusts were getting harder and faster.  One hand came up to Johnny’s chest and then caressed its way down until he grasped Johnny’s dick.  With another hard thrust Steve’s knot pushed past all resistance to breach Johnny’s hole.  With a howl the omega came, his body clenching down and triggering the alpha’s orgasm.  He was only vaguely aware of Steve’s teeth biting down into his shoulder once again as the world exploded around him.

***

Johnny woke up slowly.  He blinked at the unfamiliar sheets a moment before his head cleared and he remembered where he was: Steve’s bed.  He smiled and stretched before sitting up and looking around the room.  It was a very Steve room.  Everything was neat; the furniture was sturdy, but elegant (the bed was huge!); and there was artwork all over the walls.  As he studied the pieces he realized that it was all Steve’s handiwork.  He twisted around to see the large piece on the wall over the headboard and was startled to see himself– in his uniform and partially aflame, caught as he was leaping skyward.

“I’m not sure I got your mouth right,” Steve commented from the doorway.  Johnny twisted back around to see Steve standing there in a pair of sweats with a glass in one hand and a plate in the other. 

“So,” Johnny said a grin spreading across his face.  “Did I miss something?”

“Well, it’s not like I was being overt about it.  At least I was trying not to be,” Steve said crossing the room to sit on the bed.  He handed Johnny the glass.  “Water.  Drink all of it.  You’re probably dehydrated.”

Johnny took the glass and drank obediently.  As he did, he noticed the plate held a sandwich.  Steve tore off a bite-sized chunk and held it up for Johnny.  The omega put the glass on the nightstand and opened his mouth without protest.  _Mmmm, peanut butter._ He wasn’t particularly hungry, but he felt a distinct thrill at being hand fed by the super soldier especially after weeks of dancing around the food issue. 

“Your sister came by with a bag for you while you were sleeping,” Steve said.  “She seems to think that I’m going to find you to be a handful. 

Johnny swallowed his bite.  “Is that the way she phrased it?”

Steve chuckled and held up another bit of sandwich.  “She said quote, ‘You’ll need to be firm; he’s a brat.’”

Johnny nodded as he chewed.  “Sounds like Sue,” he finally said although he was a bit surprised that she’d given Steve any kind of warning.  It had been years since she cared anything about who he was sleeping with.  He swallowed and then grinned at Steve.  “So…not being overt?”

Steve blushed and offered Johnny another bite.  “Well…I might have a little…crush…on you,” he stammered out.  “But I know you don’t want a bondmate, so I just figured we’d be friends and that’s fine.  And, well, I’ll help you with your heat, but I won’t expect anything different between us once you’re done.”

Johnny stared at Steve in shock for a moment.  “Wow.  Okay, uh…actually, we could date?”

It was Steve’s turn to stare.  “I’m still not allowed out of the tower,” he finally said.

“Oh, yeah,” Johnny replied.  “So, we could fuck.  Like, a lot.  I’m totally good with that.”  Johnny tugged on Steve’s sweatpants.  “How about now?  Is now a good time for your?”

“Johnny,” Steve admonished fondly.  “Perhaps we should have this conversation when you’re not in heat.”

“Okay, but fucking now still sounds good,” Johnny agreed.  He took the plate from Steve and put it next to the glass, then crawled up to straddle his lap. 

“One other thing, while your head is mostly clear,” Steve said even as he wrapped his arms about Johnny.  “I didn’t realize how far along you were because of the plug, so I kinda lost a little control.  We didn’t use a condom.  If you get pregnant, I’ll let you make the decisions about it.”

Johnny busied himself with kissing his way up Steve’s neck while he spoke.  He shrugged off Steve’s concern.  “I’ve been on suppressants for five years.  It’d take a couple of free heats at least before I’m actually fertile again.”  He latched onto Steve’s earlobe and simultaneously ground himself into the alpha’s groin.

“Joooohnny!”  Steve groaned.  “Are you sure?”

Johnny made an affirmative noise and slid his hands into the back of Steve’s sweats to knead at the firm flesh.  He finally relinquished the earlobe in order to growl out, “These things really need to come off!”

Steve growled back and then tossed him onto the bed.  He got up, rapidly peeled out of his pants and then was on Johnny.  “Sue’s right.  You _are_ a brat.”

“And I’m _your_ brat for at least the next three days,” Johnny agreed wrapping his legs around Steve’s waist.  He could feel his hole slicking up again.  “So knot me, already!”

“Impatient,” Steve chuckled out.  He carefully probed Johnny’s hole with two fingers grinning as the omega wiggled and whined.  “Although, I admit it’s nice for my ego.”

“You have an ego?” Johnny teased.  He groaned as the fingers found his prostate.  “Does your ego like sex?  Because, come _on_ , Steve!”

Steve chuckled again as he leaned in to lick and kiss at Johnny’s neck.  Johnny’s finger’s dug into Steve’s back as he arched up for more body contact.  “Shit!  You’ve turned evil, haven’t you.  I’m going to tell my buddy Phil!  He’ll make you behave!”

Steve laughed and withdrew his fingers.  Before Johnny could continue his protests, Steve slotted their mouths together in a decidedly dirty kiss.  A moment later and Johnny felt the pressure of Steve’s penis against his hole.  He moaned and pressed back eagerly.  Steve slid in with little resistance and was soon thrusting in long slow strokes.  He broke the kiss and started biting at Johnny’s neck and shoulder.

“Oh, _god_ , Steve,” Johnny groaned.  “You feel so damn _good_.”

“Told you I would,” Steve whispered against his skin.  He sped up slightly. “You’re so amazing.  I’ve wanted this for weeks.”

The conversation trailed off into nonsense as the sex heated up.  Johnny finally settled into a steady chant of ‘Knot me! Knot me! Knot me!” as he got closer to the edge.  Steve eventually lifted himself up enough to get a hand on Johnny’s cock and began stroking rapidly.  Another hard push and Steve knotted.  Johnny shouted as his orgasm hit and he clenched down around Steve. With a groan the alpha fell forward pinning his partner to the bed.

They lay panting together as occasional shudders passed through each of them.  Several minutes went by before Johnny said as casually as he could, “You’re heavy.”

“You’re a super hero, you can take it,” Steve huffed.

“I’m not that much stronger than I was before the radiation exposure,” Johnny complained good-naturedly.  “And I want the rest of my sandwich.”

“Brat.  I’m enjoying my orgasm.”

Johnny raised his head to blow a raspberry against Steve’s neck.  Steve giggled, wrapped his arms around Johnny, and rolled onto his back in the direction of the nightstand. 

“There, can you reach it?  I’m not moving further.” Steve dropped his head back on the pillow with a smile and closed his eyes.  Johnny found that yes, he could reach the remains of the sandwich.  He braced one arm on Steve’s chest so he could raise his upper torso and eat comfortably.

“So, that was weird,” Johnny said when he’d finished eating.  He began to idly trace patterns on Steve’s pecs.

“What was weird?”  Steve asked.  He had brought up one hand and was gently caressing Johnny’s back.

“We had sex,” Johnny replied.

Steve lifted an eyebrow, but refused to open his eyes.  “Yes, we had sex.  I’m pretty sure that’s what you said you wanted to do.”

“Yeah, but it was, like, sex sex not heat sex,” Johnny explained.

The second eyebrow joined the first at Steve’s hairline and he finally opened his eyes.  “What the hell are you talking about?”

Johnny blinked and paused his hand.  “Did you just cuss?”

Steve gave him a Look.

“Okay, so, normally heat sex is all really desperate and kinda animal like, but what we did was just, you know, really fun and kinda normal,” Johnny explained in a rush.

“What do they teach kids about sex these days?” Steve asked.  “It shouldn’t be desperate if you’re doing it right.  That only happens if you let it build too much.  Like our first go round…” Steve frowned.  “Is that what you normally do during heat?”

“Well, yeah,” Johnny said with a matching frown.  “I mean.  It’s heat…”

“Jesus, Johnny!  No wonder people think I’m some kind of animal, if this is the attitude everyone has about heat,” Steve sighed.  “There is no reason to let it build like that.  You should be going to your alpha as soon as you’re feeling horny, not when you’re at the point that you’ll be begging anyone just to get it over with.”

“Okay,” Johnny said quietly.

“Hey, Sweetheart,” Steve said stroking Johnny’s face.  “I’m not mad at you.  I’m just frustrated with the situation.” He tugged Johnny’s head down and kissed him gently.  “Let me know when you’re starting to feel the need.  Don’t let it wait until you can’t stand it, all right?”

Johnny smiled and nodded.  He snuggled down against Steve with a sigh.  “So, are you almost done knotting?  I want a bath.”

Steve smacked him on the ass.  “Brat.”

***

Johnny rinsed the shaving soap off his face and took a moment to study himself in Steve’s bathroom mirror.  Aside from a plethora of hickies – _I’ve got to talk to him about the biting thing –_ he looked normal.  Physically he felt normal.  The heat had definitely burned out of his system.  But emotionally…

He reached up and ran his hand over the marks on one shoulder and then up to rest on the back on his neck – the one place Steve was very careful to not bite.  He ran his fingers lightly over the bonding gland and halfway wished Steve hadn’t been so careful, so it would just be done and out of his hands.  _And if Steve was that kind of alpha, I wouldn’t be here in the first place_. 

Johnny sighed and dug around in his bag until he found his cell phone.  He paused a moment and then took a deep breath and hit Sue’s number on his speed dial.

She answered on the second ring.  “Hey, little brother.  How you feeling?”

“Hey, Sue,” Johnny replied.  “Pretty amazing, actually.”

“Really?” He could hear her surprise over the phone. “Didn’t you once argue with Reed that heat was a time of ‘humiliation and misery’?”

“Yeah, well…maybe Reed’s had access to a much better alpha than I’ve had up to now,” he temporized.  “And don’t take that to mean I think you’re cool or anything.  You’re still a bossy big sister.  But the heat burned out last night and today I just feel…great.”

Sue laughed.  “Well, I’m glad you finally found someone you are comfortable with.”  She paused a moment.  “He really likes you, you know.”

“Yeah,” Johnny agreed.  “I really like him, too.  I think, maybe a lot more than I realized.”

“Yes?”  He could hear amusement in his sister’s voice.  “You have something you want to say?”

Johnny sighed.  “Sue.  How did you know?  I mean, that Reed was it?”

“Oh, Johnny.  It’s just something that I knew.  Way before he did, actually.  But I was right, and it was worth the wait.”  She paused a moment.  “Is Steve it?”

“I think?” Johnny ran his hand over his bonding gland again.  “I really…Am I going to get in trouble if I come home bonded?”

Sue laughed.  “With Steve?  Definitely not.  Although he might think he’s in trouble if he takes you up on it.”

“Thanks, Sis.  I feel so loved,” Johnny deadpanned.  He stared at himself in the mirror again.  “Actually.  I think I do.  Yeah.  I gotta go, Sue.”

“Go get ‘im!”

Johnny hung up and then grabbed Steve’s blue robe from a hook on the back of the door.  He wrapped up in it and set out to find _his_ alpha.

***

“You’re wearing my jeans,” Johnny said as he stood in the doorway to Steve’s kitchen.  _Holy hell, he’s wearing jeans!_

Steve looked up from where he was scarfing down a sandwich.  “Yeah, well, Tony is always saying I dress like a grandpa, so I thought I’d try on a pair to see how comfortable they are.”

“You’re wearing my jeans,” Johnny repeated.

“Yes,” Steve said sheepishly.  “And…?”

“And I thought I was done with my heat, but now I really want you to bend me over the nearest surface and fuck me until I can’t remember my name,” Johnny stated.

Steve laughed and held out the hand not holding the sandwich.  Johnny accepted the invitation and stepped over to snuggle against Steve.  They stood there wrapped in each other while Steve finished eating.  “You’re wearing my robe,” Steve said with an amused tone once he was done with his snack.

“Yeah, well, it’s fluffier than mine,” Johnny explained.

“That’s Tony’s fault, too.”  Steve tucked his head down to nuzzle where Johnny’s neck and shoulder met.  He took a deep breath.  “Going by your scent, I’d say you’re done.  How do you feel?"

“I’ve had five heats in my life and this was the first time I actually enjoyed it,” Johnny replied.  “Right now I feel _satisfied.”_

Steve chuckled and lifted up to lean his forehead against Johnny’s. “You just needed an alpha who knew what he was doing.”

“Yeah,” Johnny breathed out.  “I just need the right alpha.”  He held Steve’s gaze a moment and then smirked.  “Now, if I can just convince the right alpha to not leave so many bite marks.  I’m not going to be able to wear anything but turtle necks for at least a week.”

“I promised not to bite on your bonding gland,” Steve said with a matching smirk.  “You never made me promise not to leave marks anywhere else.”

“Hmm,” Johnny replied.  “You licked it a few times.”

“Sorry,” Steve said looking away.  “I shouldn’t – “

“It felt nice, actually,” Johnny said interrupting the apology.  He leaned forward slightly and pressed a kiss to Steve’s mouth.  Steve hesitated a second before tilting his head and parting his lips.  Johnny took advantage of that to push his tongue in and deepen the kiss.  For a few minutes they held each other and just kissed, but finally Steve drew back.

“So, did I miss something?” he asked.

“Maybe?”  Johnny took a deep breath.  “No, I think definitely.  Yeah.  Uh.”  He took a half step away from Steve.  He pulled the robe off his shoulders, turned around, and then dropped his head forward.  “I think you should bite it now.”

Steve carefully placed his hands on Johnny’s shoulders, but didn’t pull him closer.  Johnny shuddered.  _This is Steve.  He’s not a bully and he’s not going to force me to anything I don’t want._

“No,” Steve whispered.  Johnny whined. “Not until you tell me why.  Because right now you’re extremely tense and smell like you’re uncertain.”

“I’m certain!” Johnny said forcefully.

“Okay,” Steve said in a reasonable voice.  “Explain.”

“I told you I was an orphan, too, right?  Well, they don’t put us in orphanages anymore.  Now they put us in foster homes so we still grow up in a family environment, even if we don’t get adopted.”  Johnny took a deep breath and leaned into Steve, who automatically wrapped his arms around Johnny.  “Most homes are pretty good – the people running them are doing so because they truly care about the kids.  We started out in a home like that.  They were pretty cool people and I got along great with their omega son.  But less than a year after we were placed there the mom got cancer and Sue and I got moved to another home.  That was right at the time I hit puberty.  It was one of the rare bad homes.  The alpha was a bully who basically wanted to make his own pack.  And since his omega was unable to have kids, he decided to go the foster parent route.  He never directly abused us, but he kept us scared.  Sis kept him away from me when I went into heat the first time.  It was miserable, between my body screaming for a knot and my brain afraid he’d come in and give it to me.”

“Oh, Johnny,” Steve said curling protectively around him.

Johnny snuggled closer into Steve.  “Fortunately, the system we were in put omegas on suppressants as soon as we’ve finished our first heat.  Also, when Sue aged out, she was able to convince them to let me leave with her.  I still don’t know how she did that.”  He sighed deeply.  “So, yeah.  I don’t – didn’t want to ever bond, because somewhere in the back of my head I hear that asshole trying to beat my door down.  I did have an alpha help me with my second heat, but it was almost as miserable as without.  So I’ve been just using a dildo and the diffusers since then.  I just…I guess I’m still scared that I’ll make a mistake and bond to someone like that.  I don’t want to belong to a monster.”

“Oh, Sweetheart.  If a bond is done right, the omega doesn’t belong to the alpha, the alpha belongs to the omega.”  Steve kissed his temple.  “And I do so want to belong to you.  But I need to know that you really want me.”

Johnny turned to look Steve in the eye.  “I love you, Steve Rogers.  I want to bond with you.  I know you’re not a mistake.  So, if you would, ignore my nerves and let’s do this.”

“I love you, too.  I’d be honored to be your bondmate,” Steve said with a smile.  He hesitated a moment.  “What’s convention, now?  Do I need to call Sue?”

Johnny shook his head.  “I talked to her a few minutes ago.  She thinks you’d be good for me.  Although, she’s not so sure that’s reciprocal.”

“Well, you _are_ a brat,” Steve agreed.  “But I kinda like that.”

Johnny smiled fondly at Steve before turning back and once again presented the nape of his neck.  Somehow, now that he’d explained the situation, he found that the nerves were no longer fear, but anticipation.  Steve nuzzled and licked at his bonding gland a moment before slowly opening his mouth and pulling Johnny tight against himself.  Johnny gasped when Steve finally bit down.  Electricity raced up and down his spine as the gland dumped hormones into his bloodstream.  He could feel Steve sucking and knew that the hormones were also expressing out the back of his neck to be swallowed.  They stayed that way for several minutes and then Steve finally released his neck.  He dropped his head to Johnny’s shoulder and the two breathed heavily while the chemicals did their job of synching up their scents and orienting them to each other.

“Okay, Johnny?” Steve finally asked.

“Very okay,” Johnny replied.  He turned around in his mate’s embrace.  “Except I’m thinking that we should go back and explore my earlier idea of you bending me over the nearest surface and fucking me until I can’t remember my name.”

“I’m good with that,” Steve said with a smile.

***

Johnny lay sprawled on the couch when he heard the elevator doors open.  He sat up to see Steve coming in from his meeting at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. 

“How was your first foray into the New World without a chaperone?” he asked his mate.

“Well, I’m apparently still drawing interest from omegas, but I must also be scenting as taken, because I was getting a lot of looks, but no one bothered me,” Steve said dropping on the couch next to Johnny.  He pulled his mate into a cuddle.  “And you’re not getting your bike back.  At least not until Tony finishes getting my old Starkbike into working order.”

“Mmmm,” Johnny said noncommittally as he snuggled into Steve.

“Johnny?” Steve kissed the top of his head.  “Are you okay, Sweetheart?”

“Technically, yes,” Johnny replied.

“Technically….?”  Johnny could feel Steve frowning.  “You had your uterology appointment today.”

“Yeah,” Johnny sighed and sat up so he could look at Steve.  _Got to get this over with._ “So, the stuff he was worried about has gone away thanks to the heat, but…I’m pregnant.”

Steve’s eyes widened owlishly.  “Pregnant?  But I though you said you couldn’t…”

“I know.  I didn’t think I could,” Johnny explained.  “But the doc says that between my physiology change because of the radiation and your super soldier sperm, we’re solidly outside the norm.”

Johnny watched several emotions play across Steve’s face before he settled back to neutral – the majority of which were definitely pleased with the news.

“Okay,” Steve finally said taking Johnny’s hands. “I promised back when you were in heat that I’d let you make the decisions if I got you pregnant.  Do you know what you want to do?”

“Well,” Johnny started slowly. “I’ve spent most of the day working on the pros and cons.  And I’ll admit I started with a con attitude.”

Steve nodded with carefully maintained neutrality.  “I know you never planned on kids.”

“Yeah.”  Johnny studied his mate a moment.  “So, cons:  First off, the kid’s highly likely to be a mutant.  Which isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but it does mean they’re going to have a harder time at life right off the bat.”

Steve nodded again.  “Probably something to do with fire.  You’ve flamed a few times since your heat and you’re still pregnant.”

Johnny shrugged.  “Either that or my body is naturally protecting the fetus.  That’s just as likely.  I’ve shielded other people from fire before.  Anyway, secondly the kid will be a target for Doom and any other villain that thinks they can get to us through our child.”

“Oh, yeah,” Steve agreed with a frown.  “That’s a biggie.”

“And,” Johnny concluded.  “There’s the fact that I have not had much in the way of good examples, so I don’t think I’d end up being a very good mom.”

Steve smiled fondly at Johnny.  “I’m sure you’d be a better mom than you think.  Especially with two packs willing to help out.  That includes Jarvis and Phil, you know.”

Johnny couldn’t help but smile back.  “Okay.  So, pros:  We have warning that the kid will likely be a mutant and we have access to Xavier and his crew.  Which gives us a very good support network and will give our child access to other mutants of a like age.”

“True,” Steve agreed.

“And as to villains, they’re going to have a hard time getting past both the Avengers and the Fantastic Four if they want to use it as a lever against us.  Not to mention our resources with S.H.I.E.L.D.”  Johnny grinned.  “And since we’re going to be looking for that, it’s almost kudos to the bad guy who could actually get our child from us.”

Steve shook his head with a rueful grin.  “Okay.  Any other pros?”

 “You would be an awesome dad,” Johnny stated firmly. 

Steve blushed.  “Well, I’d give it my best.  That’s even for pro and con.  Have you anything else?”

“I think.  Yeah.”  Johnny took a deep breath.  “I really never wanted to be a mom.  But…I…well, I love you and, like I said, I think you’d be an awesome dad and I kinda want to see you being an awesome dad because the idea makes me feel really good and maybe I wouldn’t totally suck as a mom and so, I want to keep it.”

“You do?” Steve’s face had gone from neutral to hopeful.  _Yeah, this is the right decision._

“I do,” Johnny said firmly.  “I want to have your child, Steve.”

Steve’s smile could have lit the room on its own.  Johnny found himself pulled into a strong hug.  “I’m  glad.  I love you so much!”

“I love you, too,” Johnny replied.  He pulled back enough to smirk at Steve.  “And think about it.  With our looks, this kid’s gonna be _gorgeous!”_


End file.
